


the blackout goes on and on

by niceboulder



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Gen, M/M, Usnavi tries his best okay, everyone cares about sonny a lot and that is a fact, hes just scatterbrained, set between blackout and sunrise, you can fight me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-29
Updated: 2016-11-29
Packaged: 2018-09-03 01:31:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8691283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/niceboulder/pseuds/niceboulder
Summary: The power has been off for a couple of hours when Usnavi realises that in the haze of the lottery win he's forgotten something very important.





	

**Author's Note:**

> so this has an accompanying drawing of a scene near the end over on my [tumblr](http://boopliette.tumblr.com/post/153748902045/whoops-i-coloured-it-now-if-only-i-could-write) which i drew because writing is hard, so dont expect this to be that great im an artist pal not a writer i tried (i only even managed to finish it because im procrastinating something else)

It's still dark in the apartment, but Abuela had lit some candles a while ago and Usnavi really couldn't care less about the lack of power anyway. The bombshell of Abuela's lottery win was still the only thing he could think about. He's slumped on the couch, staring at the wall and occasionally glancing over to where Abuela is at the window watching the fireworks with a smile. How she can think of anything but the bag of money at the back of her wardrobe is beyond him, but it's always nice to see her happy. 

 

After a while she turns to him, and takes one look at his dazed expression.

"Usnavi." He looks up. She's got one her classically mothering expressions on. "What is that's bothering you?"  

"96,000," he says. "I can't believe it."

"Neither can I." She smiles, and turns back to the window. "But the fireworks are too beautiful to ignore."

"Is that how you've been getting through the day? Everything else is too beautiful to ignore?"

"Sí. The birds, the church, the paintings on the walls outside, Nina being home. It’s all too wonderful for me to be distracted by a little money."

"Abuela, 96000 is not 'a little money'," Usnavi laughs. 

Abuela just sighs. "Forget about the money, mijo, and watch the fireworks with me."

Usnavis never been good at saying no to Abuela Claudia. Even as a child when he was being particularly difficult his parents would pick him up and take him to Abuela's to get their way. He goes and stands beside her, one arm around her shoulder and together they look up at the bright sky.

 

She's right. They are beautiful and Usnavi finds himself calmer than he's been all day. It's nice. Really nice. After a while though the fireworks go off less frequently before they're over completely, and he pulls back from the window with a sigh. 

"Do you think they're over now?" Abuela asks, taking a seat at the small table they have by the kitchen.

"I guess. Who'd you think was setting them off anyway? It always used to Mr Ortega."

"Since June 1968. He wanted to practice before July. Third photo album from the right."

"You want me to get it for you?" Usnavi asks.

Abuela nods. "It's always nice to remember old friends we've lost."

"He didn't die, Abuela. He just moved downtown." Abuela pulls a face as if to say 'same difference' and Usnavi laughs. She and Mr Ortega had been friends for years, and had a playfully angry dynamic. They had rarely said nice about the other, but were somehow probably each other’s best friends. She was ‘ _Señora Vieja Bruja_ ’ and he was ‘ _Señor Feo_ ’, whilst Mrs Ortega was ‘ _Señora Perfecta_ ’. If there was one part they could agree on it was that Mrs Ortega was wonderful. They all still meet up on Wednesdays.

 

He turns to the bookshelf behind him. Abuela's apartment is full of memories she's painstakingly collected over the years. Him and Nina always used to joke that if anyone wanted to write a book about the barrio, they'd have to look no further than Abuela for all the answers. It wasn't that much of a joke really, considering when Nina had tried her hand at being a novelist she'd gone straight to Abuela to be her 'chief historical advisor'. Abuela had been overjoyed. 

Granted, eight year old Nina's idea of history had only gone back to 1985 at that point, but Abuela had still gathered everything she knew and told Nina about it every day whilst the small girl made notes. She had kept it up for at least a month, until Nina moved onto her next dream - karate princess. That one didn't work out so well. Usnavi had to give Nina some credit though, she had finished the book first. The only surviving copy of " _Abuela Owl and the Barrio Ghosts, and Other Short Stories_ ", lived somewhere in Abuela's room. 

 

He finds the right album with ease, exactly where Abuela had said, and takes a second to look at the photos hung on the wall as he stands. Almost all of them on that wall have him in them and most of them have Sonny too. The one of the first time he ever held Sonny catches his eye and he smiles. The wall is reserved for " _only the most important of times_ ", Abuela always says, and that certainly counts. Sonny had been so small back then. Hell, he was still small now but -  _shit_.

 

Where the fuck was Sonny?

 

Dropping the album onto the bookcase - right beside his and Sonny's baby pictures, pride of place - he scrambles to get his phone out his pocket. The damn thing is dead. _Of fucking course it is._

The charging cable's not been unplugged since Sonny was charging his phone this morning, and Usnavi has never been more grateful that the kid never tidies up after himself. He plugs it into the wall with shaking hands and it almost immediately lights up with a text from Benny saying  _"found nina no van tho she w/ u??_ " and - Usnavi's heart drops - seven missed calls from his cousin.  

 

 _Oh god_ , how had he forgotten Sonny? 

 

"Shit, shit,  _shit_ ," he mutters. He tries to unlock the phone but his hands are shaking too much to type in the passcode correctly. After the fourth attempt he hands it to Abuela who types it in slowly, but carefully and hands it back. 

"Mijo? What is wrong?" she asks. 

"Sonny's been calling, where the hell is he?" he says frantically, pacing circles around the couch. Abuela wants to reach out to him but sits back and let's him try and work through his panic by himself first. She's had a lot of experience when it comes to her boys and panicking. 

"He hasn't been home since lunch," she says calmly. First things first, Usnavi needs facts. 

"Shit, shit-"

"Usnavi," she says gently, catching one of his hands between both of hers, stopping him as he passes. Second, grounding. Third, instructions.  "Calm down. Sit down. Call him back."

"Yeah, yeah I-" The phone starts buzzing in his hand. "That's him! Oh thank-"

"Then answer, mijo."

"Oh, right."

 

It takes a few tries to hit accept call and when he presses the phone to his ear all he can hear is Sonny's desperate whisper of"- _up, pick up, pick u_ -"

"Sonny?" 

"'Navi!" Sonny says and Usnavi can practically hear his grin. He's not sure he's ever been more relived then in this moment. "Thank god you're okay, Pete said -"

"You with that punk?!" 

"Yes, and he said youse were both at the club and he didn't know where you went after the blackout," Sonny says, completely ignoring Usnavi's accompanying grumbles about the neighborhood vandal. Of course Pete was with him. Wherever Sonny went Pete was never far behind.

"I'm home, where are you? Don't say his apartment-" 

"We're at the bodega." Usnavi freezes. That's worse. That's way worse than he was imagining. 

"Sonny!" he all but shouts. "Get outta there! It ain't safe!"

"Nah, nah, cuz, we're okay we've locked the doors and are making sure it don't get looted cause the grate won't come down and-"

Usnavi pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs. "Put Graffiti Pete on." 

There's a second of shuffling before Pete arrives. 

"Yo," he says, as though he's just walked into the bodega on some slow Tuesday, and is not in the middle of a blackout in a dangerous situation. Usnavi has to resist the urge to say something about his attitude. That's not important right now. Sonny is. 

"You bring him home right now," he orders.

"He says he won't leave with the grate broke."

"I don't care what he says, Pete. I don't need him playing the hero right now. I need him safe. Just get him outta there." 

Pete sighs. "Listen, I want to, man. Trust me, I do not want him here but he's stubborn-"

"Hey!" he hears a muffled Sonny yelp. 

 "-and I'mma stay where he needs me," Pete continues as if he wasn't interrupted, but he must've done something because Usnavi can hear Sonny laugh.

 

"Put Sonny back on." When the shuffling stops, Usnavi tries to contain his frustration with his cousin -why can't he just stay safe?!- and says, "ten minutes or I'm coming down there myself."

Sonny tries to protest but Usnavi cuts him off. 

"Don't make me leave Abuela alone, Sonny, she is a poor old lady- oof!" Abuela hits him in the stomach with a smirk and takes the phone from him.

"Sonny De La Vega, you come home right now or I will come down there and bring you back myself. ¿ _Comprendes_?"

Sonny's yelp of " _¡sí, señora!_ " is loud enough for them both to hear as Usnavi takes the phone back.

"Sonny-" he begins, but can't really find the words to express how relieved and yet how worried he still is. 

"Relax Navi, I'm coming back, no need for a lecture, okay?" Sonny says softly, and Usnavi can hear him and Pete shuffling around. 

"Be careful. Please. I-I don't know what I'd do-"

"I will."

"-and Sonny? I- uh, check the punk's pockets. I don't trust him near my stuff in the dark."

Sonny laughs. "Cuz, trust me, Pete is the least of the bodega's worries.  _But we did take some candy, okay, see ya, bye_ ," he finishes quickly and hangs up. Usnavi rolls his eyes but can't find it in himself to really care. 

 

"I'm going to bed," Abuela says, standing and giving Usnavi a kiss on the forehead. "Blow out the candles before you go to bed, I may be rich now but I can't afford to lose my photos."

"You're not gonna wait for Sonny?" Usnavi asks, standing with her.

"I trust him," she smiles, taking one of Usnavi's hands in hers. "He'll be okay. He's got that big friend of his. It's been a long day, I need my beauty sleep."

"But-"

"If he's not home in twenty minutes, you come wake me up and I'll give him a talking to."

"Okay, night, Abuela. Love you."

She leaves him with another kiss, this one on the cheek, and he sits back onto the couch. He could probably respond to Benny's text, he should probably call Vanessa, but instead he stares straight at his watch and waits for Sonny. 

 

When the door opens eleven minutes and fourteen seconds later Usnavi is on his feet and across the room in an instant, pulling his cousin tight against his chest in a bone crushing hug. Sonny's hands curl into the back of shirt. For all the kid tries to play it cool, Usnavi knows his cousin. He hates the dark and he hates being alone and he must've been terrified. 

"Thank god you're okay," Usnavi says, pulling back and taking Sonny's face in his hands to give it a thorough inspection. He seems in one piece and Usnavi knows that's probably thanks to Pete. He glances up at the other boy who is lingering awkwardly in the door frame and gives him a small nod. Pete doesn't seem to have been as lucky as Sonny, there's a cut on his cheek and it looks like that part of his face is starting to bruise. 

"Geez 'Navi, get offa me i'm fine," Sonny says with a grin, but he's not as put off with his cousins concern as he'd like everyone to think and keeps one hand on his arm. Usnavi desperately want to tell him off, to make him swear never to do anything like that again, but he's just so damn relieved that Sonny's in one piece that he doesn't say any of it. 

"Go to bed, kid," Usnavi says and he pushes Sonny into the apartment. Sonny claps his back with a small smile before leaving for his room. 

"And that candy's going on your tab!" Usnavi yells after him. He can hear Sonny laugh as he shuts his bedroom door. 

 

He turns back to Pete, who looks very out of place, shifting from one foot to the other in the doorway, a small frown on his face. He doesn't meet Usnavi's eyes. 

"You didn't have to walk him all the way."

Pete looks up with a scowl. "I wasn't about to let him go by himself! They've got guns and shit out there man, who knows-“

"I meant upstairs."

"Oh," Pete mumbles, scuffing his feet at the edge of the door mat. "Well-"

"Nah, it's fine. You wanna come in?"

“Uh, y-yeah," he says, looking confused. He's never been allowed in when Usnavi's been home (or atleast that Usnavi knows of - thank god for fire escapes) and he really doesn’t know how to handle this  situation. Usnavi steps back from the door and gestures for Pete to move. When he finally remembers how to use his legs, he goes and stands by the couch, looking just as awkward and out of place as he did in the hall.

"You can stay if you want," Usnavi offers as he shuts the door. Pete turns to him wide eyed. Being let inside was one thing, but this - Pete can't help but wonder if he was knocked out defending the store and this is all some elaborate dream. "'Stead of going back to your place." 

 

Pete lives somewhere a couple of blocks away. It's near Carla's but Usnavi doesn't know the specifics. It's not a great part of the neighborhood, and Usnavi really doesn't want the kid getting stabbed because he made him walk home. He may be a nuisance, and Usnavi's not his biggest fan, but he cares about Sonny, and that’s enough for Usnavi right now. 

"Thanks man," Pete says, reaching out to shake Usnavi's hand. Sonny has told him a hundred times that being respectful would probably win Usnavi over, but that's not really Pete's game. He'd rather Usnavi like him for who he is, but in Usnavi's own home he decides to make an effort. Just for tonight, anyway.  

“Don't mention it.” He shakes Pete’s hand and Pete is going to count that as a success for probably the rest of his life. Usnavi claps the handshake with his free hand, holding it for a second, and leaning closer. “ _Seriously_. Don't mention it. This is a weird night for all of us, I mean I pulled your pants down in the club like three hours ago and now your in my house with a black eye, and I thinks its best we forget any of this ever happened so I can go back to hating you in the morning.” 

Pete laughs. “I'm cool with that.”

Usnavi still doesn’t let go of him though. He looks down for a second and when he looks back up he’s a lot more sombre. “Pete. Thank you,” he says slowly. “For staying with him.” 

“I'd never leave him.”

“I know.” He lets go of Pete’s hand and holds his shoulder instead. “Get some sleep, okay?

Pete nods and after a couple more seconds living in the strange world where him and Usnavi have a strange Sonny-based truce, he breaks away from Usnavi, walking towards Sonny’s room.

 

 _Damn_ , Usnavi thinks, he really should have specified that Pete had to sleep on the couch, but he didn't know how to do that without being suspicious. Sonny's had plenty of friends stay over in his room, he can't exactly ban Pete without letting them know what they think he doesn't know. Usnavi has to try not to laugh - they're really not very subtle - so he sits back on the couch and hopes to God Pete doesn't see his shoulders shaking. 

 

Pete knocks on Sonny's door and when it opens Sonny's face breaks into a grin.

"Hey," he whispers. He looks past Pete's shoulder to see if Usnavi is watching and when it's obvious he's not he places a hand on Pete's chest. Pete reaches up to cover it with one of his own. Sonny’s smile fades slightly and even that almost breaks Pete’s heart. He starts drawing small circles on the back of Sonny’s hand with his thumb. Sonny always liked that, it helps him not get too carried away. "It's okay, you can go,” Sonny says, his smile still looking sad. “I’m home now, I'll be fine. Go out and paint me something pretty, yeah?"

"Actually, Usnavi said I could stay."

Sonny’s mouth fell open and he looked up at Pete wide eyes. "You're kidding."

“Scout’s honor,” Pete says, and Sonny raises his eyebrow. “Fine, graffiti artist’s honor, the words came straight outta his mouth. I still might leave before sunrise, y’know. He might've gotten over his sudden crazy by then, plus I probably could still paint you something pretty then. I don’t think that chaos is dyin’ down anytime soon, no one would even notice me. Do you think Abuela Claudia would mind if I took some of her candles?”

“Probably not, she loves your paintings,” Sonny says with a fond smile, and leans closer to Pete’s chest. “What would you paint?”

“Prettiest thing I know," Pete whispered, and with a glance at Usnavi’s back he punctuated his point with a quick kiss, "you."

Sonny pulls back with a laugh. "Wow, that was terrible."

"Yeah, well, you ruined me - I was cool before you."

"Sure you were babe," Sonny chuckled, taking Pete's hand and pulling him into his room. 

 

Usnavi wasn't an idiot. Most of the time. He had turned his back to the two boys on purpose and knew the sound of a kiss when he heard it but they didn't need to know he knew. Not yet. They definitely did not need to know he'd known for a while.  Sonny would come to him when he was ready. That, Usnavi was sure of. 

 

It was only when he had blown out all the candles, shouted one loud ‘ _goodnight’_ in the direction of Sonny’s room to remind them he was there, and gotten into bed that Usnavi realises he hasn't thought about the money in hours. He smiled to himself. It, like many other things that had happened that night, could wait until the sunrise. 

 


End file.
